Harness.



P ATENTED APR. 28,`1908. 'A. M. CRAIG.

- HARNESS. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 13.1907.

Figi im: NaRRls PETER: ca., wAsHINnTaN. n. c,

AUNITED sTATEs PATENT oEinoE.-

ALEXANDER M. CRAIG, OF ROME, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ROME SADDLERY HARDWARE MANUFACTURING CO., OF ROME, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OFV NEW YORK.

HARNESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 28, 1908.

Application filed August 13, 1907. Serial No. 388,357.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ALEXANDER M. CRAIG, a citizenbf the United States, residing at Rome, in the county of On'eida and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in harness and particularly to improvements in traces and hame tugs and their accessories, and it has for its principal object the rein- -forcement of a trac-e and hame tug by means of metal, preferably wire rope, and in a manner suoli as not to detract in the least from the appearance nor from the ease of manipulation; per contra, to enhance the former and increase the latter.

To this end the invention consists in the construction of parts, their association and combination substantially as hereinafter set forth.

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, show in Figure 1, a face view 'of the forward end of a trace and the rearward end of a hame tug, a buckle whereby the former is secured to the latter and a loop for holding the free end of the trace to the hame tug Fig. 2 is an edge view of the structure seen in Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a face viewl of the metallic reinforce for the forward end of the trace; Fig. 4 illustrates the reinforce for the hame tug and yshows the manner of connecting the same to the buckle; Fig. 5 is a face view of the rear end of the metallic reinforce for the traceshowing the connection thereof with a cock-eye; Fig. 6 shows on an enlarged scale a transverse section of the structure seen in Fig. 1, the same being taken in the plane indicated by the line 6 6; Fig. 7

shows a longitudinal central section through the tongue of the buckle and Fig. 8 represents in face view and in vertical section, one mode of producing the stops formed between the strands of the metallic reinforce.

The parts of the harness, to which this invention applies, give the appearance of being made entlrely o leather so perfectly is the metallic reinforce covered 1n by leather. Preferably this reinforce consists of strands of wire rope such as illustrated at W.

are connected together at their ends in any sui-table way, wherebyto furnish at one end attaching means for connecting the clip or other device, by which the tug is joined to its respective hame, and at the other end, means whereby a buckle may be connected to the tug. These attaching means, vF and C respectively, are preferably soldered or brazed to the strands W. vThe reinforce for the trace is ysimilarly constructed and may have at its rear end 'a cockeye as E attached by a clip K to the means connecting the ends of cables W together. At intervals the forward ends of the cables W are also joined by suitable metal portions indicated at A, .which serve as stops or abutments for co-action `with the tongue of the buckle whereby the trace may be adjusted to different lengths.

4As before stated any suitable device may be employed for connecting the strands W together, but the one preferred is that shown in 8. lt is formed by wrapping a strip of sheet metal as V about the strands W and compressing the same tightly about vsaid strands and to further strengthen this con# nector a strip of sheet metal Y may be wrapped longitudinally about the connector and this also forcibly pressed down. This second strip aids further in building up the web of the connector V to a thickness about equal to those portions of the connector V containing the strands W. These strips of metal, after being submitted to suitable pressure, areV preferably soldered or brazed to the cables thereby becoming practically integral therewith. This form of connection is also preferably used for joining the endsv of the cables constituting the hame tug and the trace.

To provide means suitable for easily and readily effecting the adjustment of a metal-` .the rear portion of the hame tug and the pintle P of the buckle is referably journaled in the rear portion of te base of the tongue whereby the buckle is in effect hinged to the tongue and cables and capable of being turned from the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 to that seen in Fig. 7,v wherein buckle and tongue are shown on an enlarged scale. To form the hame tug, two of these strands When the buckle is swung into the position shown in Fig. 7, the trace may be freely moved through the same until the desired socket D in its underside is in position to receive the tongue X, when the buckle may be swung back into the position seen 1n Fig. 2 and the forward end of the trace brought against the haine tug.

In Fig. 6 one manner of embedding the metallic reinforce is indicated. In the trace T two layers of leather are employed and stitched together at the edges as indicated at S. The openings through the inner layer of leather are made adjacent to the stops A, as indicated at D, for the reception of the tongue X. The reinforce of the hame tug is similarly housed between two layers of leather stitched together in the same way as those of the trace and preferably a wear leather as R is secured to the tug by stitching. The middle row of stitches is also preferably run through the trace between the strands of the cable excepting at'the forward end thereof.

A keeper or loop L for the free end of the trace is provided and to facilitate the insertion of this metal-reinforced trace under said keeper it is preferably made adjustable lengthwise of the tug and for that purpose is composed of metal or other suitable stifl` material. To provide for this adjustment of the loop the same is made in the form of an interrupted rectangle, as seen in edge view of Fig. 6, constituting a loop with recurved ends, which ends are inserted between the tug and its wear-leather, the lateral row of stitches between the tug and wear-leather being omitted for a distance such as will allow the desired adjustment of the loop along the tug. This is indicated in Figs: 2 and 6. '.l`hroughout this section of the tug said lateral stitches simply pass through the two layers of the leather .ofthe tug.

The metal-reinforced. trace described may be attached to the haines in any of the well known ways instead of -by the buckle and haine tug as herein shown and described and in place of the cock-eye, it may have other Well known attaching means by which the length of the trace may be adjusted.

The invention claimed is 2d 1. A multiple-strand wire trace having cross pieces uniting said strands and serving as stops and means adapted to be connected to the haines for engaging said stops to vary the working length `of the trace.

2. A multiple-strand wire trace having cross pieces uniting said strands and serving as stops for trace adjusting devices and consisting of sheet metal strips wrapped about the strands and connected thereto as by soldering or brazing.

3. A multiple-strain] wire trace having cross pieces uniting said strands and serving as stops for trace adjusting devices and consisting of sheet lnetal strips wrapped about the strands and connected thereto by soldering or brazing and a reinforcing and filling strip wrapped about the cross strip between the strands and united by soldering or brazing to the cross strip and strands.

Lt. In a harness, thecombination with a haine tug, of a buckle hinged thereto by its cross piece and a tongue for the buckle rigidly fixed to the haine tug and a multiplestrand wire trace having metal cross pieces joining the strands at intervals to forni stops for said tongue.

5. In a harness, the combination with a hame tug, of a buckle hinged thereto by its cross piece and a tongue for the buckle rig; idly fixed to the haine tug and a multiple* strand wire trace having cross pieces uniting the strands at intervals for engagement with said tongue and having a covering of leather with openings on the inner side, through which the tongue may pass into engagement with said cross pieces.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALEXANDER M.' CRAIG.

Witnesses: Y A

THOMAS J. MCNAMARA, EDWIN B. Siurrn. 

